Emma Lyons
The Six Nations is one of the biggest tournament in the rugby calendar. Ireland are one of the best teams in the world and their recent success begs the question of whether they are leagues above the other teams in this tournament.
So will they be Grand Slam winners for a second year running?
World Cup Defeat
With the Rugby World Cup in Paris only coming to a close three and a half months ago, the Irish rugby team have spent their time processing another failure to reach a World Cup Semi-final. Yet, Ireland’s rugby team is arguably the strongest it has ever been.
Current head coach Andy Farrell has taken this well drilled side from strength to strength. It was no surprise that Irish fans anticipated them going all the way in the 2023 World Cup. General sentiment was, that if any Irish team could reach a final, it was going to be this one.
“The Irish squad have continued to demonstrate why they are a world-class side”
Ireland went into the World Cup in the strongest position possible, coming off the back of a successful grand slam win in the 2023 Six Nations. But it was not meant to be. Ireland’s close defeat to New Zealand in the quarter-final put an end to World Cup dreams for another four years. Now we are in a new year, a new tournament and the Irish squad have continued to demonstrate why they are a world-class side, with three wins out of three games in the first few weeks of this year’s Six Nations.
Six Nations Opening Games
Ireland’s Six Nations Campaign has started in the best possible way, with a comfortable 38-17 win over France. The French team also made it to the Rugby World Cup quarter-final, before being knocked out by South Africa. In the 2023 Six Nations, France finished second in the competition behind Ireland and in 2022 France were grand slam winners. In recent years, this formidable French side has been close behind Ireland in the rankings. An opening round win for Ireland has given fans confidence that they will go all the way.
https://twitter.com/IrishRugby/status/1756748741195800712
Farrell and the Irish squad are notorious for being calm, composed, and taking each game as it comes, which is a wise mindset to take. But Ireland’s performances in recent years demonstrate their strength as a team. They have a well-rehearsed game plan that they are able to adapt when under pressure.
Post Johnny Sexton Era
You only have to know the basics of rugby to watch and appreciate that the Irish are a well synchronised team, who know what works for them. Over the past two years, Ireland has seen players come and go through injury and retirement. Most notably, ex-captain and fly-half Johnny Sexton who has been at the helm of Irish Rugby for five years. His retirement from the sport after the 2023 World Cup was strongly felt in the Irish camp. But as Ireland entered into their first Six Nations tournament without him and other top players such as winger Mack Hansen, who is out through injury, they successfully displayed their depth in numbers.
“Jack Crowley has stepped up to make his mark”
Ireland’s opening games at this year’s Six Nations have shown that their success is the result of a full squad effort, made up of very skilful world-class players across the board. Sexton’s replacement Jack Crowley has stepped up to make his mark in the team. So far he has proven his ability to perform on the international stage.
Can The Men in Green Win Again?
This team has an unwavering belief in their ability to win games against other world-class sides. It is clear to see in how the Irish fans show up to support the Six Nations campaign, that people are fully behind this squad. The Irish Rugby Football Union estimates that ten thousand Irish fans made the trip to France to support their team in the opening game of the tournament.
Ireland’s remaining fixtures see them come up against England and Scotland. While they have comfortably beaten all three teams in the last two Six Nations tournaments, they will not go into either of these games complacent. The Irish camp takes it week by week, but history is on their side.
Reflecting back on their past performances against these teams, Ireland have proven in this competition that they are the team to beat. While England and Scotland will both put up a solid fight against the number two ranked team in the world, Irish fans expect that they will go onto win their remaining games, taking the grand slam and back-to-back championships.
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Featured image courtesy of Hirobi on Pixabay. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here.
